The bulk of the Koranic verses regarding a preordained
human destiny, however, contradict such texts. Consider
Sura 4:119: ‘‘And surely I will lead them astray, and surely I
will arouse desires in them, and surely I will command them
and they will cut the cattle’s ears, and surely I will command
them and they will change Allah’s creation.’’ The speaker
here seems to be ‘‘those who call upon Satan,’’ but the
Koranic text is unclear: it could be Allah Himself. Does
Allah arouse in the hearts of men vain desires and command
them to tamper with His creation? It seems absurd that Allah
could be saying and doing such things, but this seems
precisely to be the case.
As the Koran states: ‘‘Those whom Allah [in His plan]
wills to guide, He opens their breast to Islam; those whom
He wills to leave straying, He makes their breast close and
constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus does
Allah [heap] the penalty on those who refuse to believe’’
(Sura 6:125). Allah even leaves sinners alone so that He can
punish them all the more: ‘‘Let not the Unbelievers think
that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant
them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: But they
will have a shameful punishment’’ (Sura 3:178; see also
Sura 11:34).
Sura 4:119 says, ‘‘He who chooses Satan rather than
Allah for his protector ruins himself beyond redemption.’’
How can this be true in light of the Koran’s entire portrayal
of Allah? Is this a picture of a ‘‘most merciful’’ and ‘‘most
compassionate’’ God? Why would someone choose Allah
as his protector if He arouses in him vain desires, leaves him